Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell sings about his split from musician Amanda Shires on his latest album, Foxes in the Snow. "What I was attempting to do is document a very specific time where I was going through a lot of changes," he tells Terry Gross. David Bianculli reviews the FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex. When Scottish actor David Tennant was three, he told his parents he wanted to grow up to play Doctor Who on TV. His dream became a reality — he was Doctor Who for five years and, it turns out, he was suited for lots of other characters, including villains and detectives, and the lead in many Shakespeare plays.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What themes does Jason Isbell explore in his new album?
Is it with the Gates of Heaven?
I am, indeed, yeah, in a death song. You know, so it's the kind of thing where...
You know, sort of let my unconscious mind build these lyrical phrases, and then I go back and shape them into something that not only sings and scans accurately, which is, this is a huge part of the process for me that I think sometimes people don't realize how much energy you spend just trying to get something to sing naturally.
Was death on your mind when you wrote this?
I don't know that death was on my mind any more than life was on my mind. Anytime I think about being grateful, I call it my hillbilly brain, but it goes to the worst possible scenario in a lot of situations.
So I spend a lot of time thinking about death, not in a sad or fearful way, but in a way that I think, well, I've already done so many things and got to see so many things, and that might not have necessarily been in the plans for me at the beginning. So I'm very, very grateful for the time that I have had, and I think this song deals with that, among other things.
There was a time, though, there was definitely a time early on after Amanda and I had split up, you know, when I was driving in the car and the radio wasn't on and I was alone and I just heard myself say out loud without realizing that I was saying, and I heard myself say, is this going to kill me? And I didn't even know that I was thinking that question, but I heard it bounce off the windshield.
So, yeah, I mean, it's a combination of both of those things. Everything is brief. It's so, so brief, but it's so beautiful.
I'm going to tell you my dilemma as a listener. And I'll preface this by saying I really love this album. So I first interviewed you in 2013 after Southeastern, your first album since Getting Sober. And at that time, you seemed so much in love with your wife, who I think you were already married, Amanda, who's also a songwriter and singer and violinist.
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Chapter 2: How does Jason Isbell reflect on his past relationships?
Well, he must have been because for a year... He served as the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is basically like the highest position in the church.
The highest position but on a revolving yearly basis because the Church of Scotland is built on the idea that there should be no hierarchy. So you take a turn and you step back again.
He also had a TV show called That's the Spirit that he co-hosted.
What was that show like?
Did you ever go to the set?
I did, actually, yes. It was on Scottish television. But yes, he did. On a Sunday afternoon in Scotland, you could see my dad in That's the Spirit. It was a sort of religious magazine program. So he would go and meet a community project. He would do a little bit to camera where he gave a little message for the day. He'd do interviews with people.
People who are doing interesting or important things in the world of divinity or outreach or whatever it was. But yeah, he did that for quite a few years. And I remember sitting off camera and watching it happen a couple of times.
I have a hard time believing the story, but it's been told many times. Oh, come on. What's this? At the age of three, you told your family that you wanted to be an actor because you wanted to play Doctor Who.
Which is the bit you find most implausible about that story? Because I have thoughts.
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